Articles are an essential part of people's lives. For example, absorbent articles can be useful for absorbing many types of fluids, including fluids secreted or eliminated by the human body. Superabsorbent materials are frequently used in absorbent articles to help improve the absorbent properties of such articles. Superabsorbent materials are generally polymer based and are available in many forms, such as powders, granules, microparticles, films and fibers, for example. Upon contact with fluids, such superabsorbent materials swell by absorbing the fluids into their structures. In general, superabsorbent materials can quickly absorb fluids insulted into such articles, and can retain such fluids to prevent leakage and help provide a dry feel even after fluid insult.
Absorbent articles are typically white or are colored to a desired color depending on the manufacturer and/or the intended end use. Color is generally imparted with pigments, fillers or dyes which are added to the raw materials used to make the absorbent article. Color has been historically used in absorbent articles to communicate a hygienic condition of the article prior to use. Typically, a white color has been used as the predominate color of absorbent articles to convey that the absorbent articles are of a hygienic condition.
Current fashion trends have resulted in undergarments having colors other than the traditional white. In addition, these current fashion trends have yielded outer clothing which has a certain “see-through” quality, such that the color of the undergarments can be easily recognized through the outer clothing. By having absorbent articles, such as pantiliners and sanitary napkins, with a white color and the undergarments of a different color, the white color may make the absorbent article or the contour of the absorbent article visible through the undergarment and outer clothing, resulting in a lack of discretion for the user of the absorbent article.
In addition, coloring the absorbent article to match the coloring of the undergarments would be a possible option to provide discretion. However, preparing absorbent articles that will match or nearly match the color of the wide variety of undergarments currently being manufactured by the clothing industry would be a nearly impossible task for a manufacturer of absorbent articles. For each product line, the manufacturer of absorbent articles would need to provide various colors of absorbent articles. In addition, having many different colors would result in many different product codes that a retailer would need to stock on its shelves. With shelf space at a premium in today's retail market, providing sufficient shelf space for a given manufacturer to display its products would or could require more than twice the shelf space currently available. Furthermore, simple changes in a dye lot for the absorbent articles or the undergarments could result in absorbent articles that would not match or nearly match the undergarments. Currently available absorbent articles typically do not blend in with the surrounding use environments; thereby providing little, if any, discretion to the user due to color of the articles. Therefore, there is a need in the art for absorbent articles which are transparent or translucent so that the absorbent articles will blend in with the use environments and can be discretely used by a user without others readily determining that the user is using an absorbent article.
In addition, there is continuing effort to improve the performance of such articles. One desire is to make absorbent articles thinner. Another desire is to make absorbent articles more flexible. Still another desire is to increase the integrity of absorbent articles, in both a wet and dry condition. Yet another desire is to improve or maintain the absorbent intake and/or the absorbent capacity of such articles. One method for improving absorbent properties could be to increase the amount of superabsorbent material in the article. However, an increase in superabsorbent material content can increase the thickness of the article and the shake-out of superabsorbent absorbent material, and likewise can decrease the flexibility and/or the integrity of the article. Accordingly, there is a need for transparent or translucent absorbent articles which achieve desired absorbent properties while maintaining desired thinness and/or flexibility and/or integrity in both a wet and dry condition.